Following the agreement of the ceasefire between Iran and the United States earlier this week, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by Professor Lina Khatib of both the Harvard Belfer Center and Chatham House, to assess who “won” this war, the ramifications for Iran’s proxies across the region, and what the survival of the regime means for the wider world.
Iran is at a boiling point. In January, mass protests broke out across the country, and many thousands of people were wounded and killed. Meanwhile, the US has moved an aircraft carrier and a number of destroyers close to Iran in a military threat which remains unclear in its aims. To untangle these and many other threads, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El welcomes back Iran specialist Roxane Farmanfarmaian, her co-Senior Associate Fellow at the ELN, for a deep and fascinating examination of Iran at a crossroads.
As Trump’s America slides into economic uncertainty and deepening division, it seems to be shedding its role as a global leader. China, meanwhile, is stepping into the vacuum; cultivating ties with the Global South, showcasing its power on the world stage, and supporting Russia in Ukraine. Is Beijing truly positioning itself as the new global leader, or is it just another player in the chaos? Lauren Gloudeman, Director of China at Eurasia Group, joins ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El to explore China’s changing position in the international order.
By the end of August, Britain, France, and Germany have to decide whether to invoke the “snapback” mechanism, which would automatically restore pre-2015 UN sanctions on Iran. Hamidreza Azizi writes that a narrow path remains open for those willing to take it. He proposes a roadmap for phased cooperation with the IAEA, anchored in a parallel diplomatic track with Europe and the US. The window for such an approach may close within weeks; quick action on both sides is essential.
Today, President Trump’s tariffs on all of the US’s major trading partners come into action. The Trump administration has declared today a “Liberation Day” from the global intertwined trade system, whilst at the same time nearly every other major economy has expressed their displeasure with the move. To discuss the tariffs, their effects, and the state of the global economy, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by Rebecca Christie and Lauren Gloudeman.
Russian and US officials met in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss the future of Ukraine and European security, without Europeans present. On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we asked members of our network: how should Europeans react and how can they make their voices heard on Ukraine?